Zacks Investment Research Lowers Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) to Hold

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

According to Zacks, “Affiliated Managers’ shares have underperformed the industry, over the past six months. Yet, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, as it surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The company remains well positioned for growth based on successful partnerships, a diverse product mix and initiatives undertaken to strengthen its retail market operations. Also, inflows are expected to get an impetus with broad distribution across channels and product categories. However, pressure on revenues owing to significant market volatility remains a major concern for the company. Also, the company’s exposure toward high debt levels might limit its flexibility in terms of procuring additional finance for working capital, capital expenditures and other needs.”

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Several other research firms have also issued reports on AMG. Barrington Research upped their price target on Affiliated Managers Group to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Citigroup raised Affiliated Managers Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Credit Suisse Group lowered Affiliated Managers Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Goldman Sachs Group lowered Affiliated Managers Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank lowered their price objective on Affiliated Managers Group from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $228.00.

Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $194.50. The company had a trading volume of 242,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,544. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $10,687.25, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.55. Affiliated Managers Group has a twelve month low of $148.81 and a twelve month high of $216.99.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $604.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.51 million. Affiliated Managers Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 29.92%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.80 EPS. equities research analysts forecast that Affiliated Managers Group will post 17.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Affiliated Managers Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback 3,400,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the asset manager to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

In related news, CFO Jay C. Horgen sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.59, for a total transaction of $5,687,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,620,654.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMG. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Affiliated Managers Group during the 3rd quarter worth $718,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 22.8% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,780 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 31.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 35,948 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 145,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.62% of the company’s stock.

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Affiliated Managers Group Company Profile

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc is an asset management company with equity investments in boutique investment management firms. The Company operates in three segments, which represent its principal distribution channels: Institutional, Mutual Fund and High Net Worth. The equity method investments in the Institutional distribution channel are made in relationships with public and private client entities, including foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and retirement plans for corporations and municipalities.